The Rocks kick off their summer schedule on June 26 at East Dean FC and manager Blake says his charges will be put through their paces from the first minute as his squad prepare for the new season ahead.
Blake wants the hard graft to pay off and tactical awareness to be in evidence as Bognor set about their pre-season friendlies — the standout game of which is the Nyewood Lane clash with Championship outfit Portsmouth on July 20 — to ensure they are fully prepared for the league opener on August 10.
And the gaffer says he will use the training sessions and warm-up matches to run the rule over a clutch of trialists scheduled to gain a place in his plans.
He said: “We want to start on the front foot, from the very start — there is no question about that. To give us the best chance of doing that we must make the most of our time with the players in pre-season and that will involve lots of hard work as well as working on tactics and shape.
“We will have some decisions to make on some trialists who are coming in and we definitely want to add some players to the group, especially to give us more attacking options.
“It’s good to be able to train hard and then play matches, the combination is ideal to prepare the lads for the league season. We are really happy with the way the squad has come together with players being retained and the additional players coming in, such as Tommy Block and Doug Tuck, and there will be more to come.
“The pedigree of players who have been in touch to come in and train with us is really encouraging and I think this has a lot to do with the way we want to play the game.
“That won’t change, our principles of play are so important to how we go about our business and that is fundamental for us. Season on season progress is a process and the lads staying with us know all about how we want to play and those coming in must adapt accordingly.
“I’m keen to see how the trialists cope. We want to add players to the squad and those who impress have a real chance of joining up with us for the new season.”
